Too true! It was actually ATC at fault. Doubly-so for using French instead of English RT to their national aircraft so the British pilots didn't have a mental picture of the ground movements and so were unable to deduce that ATC had cocked up big time.
mental picture... gimme a break! Ever flown south of the rio grande all the way down to the tip of South America? Non-English ATC exists in many more countries than you think and the accident rate is surprisingly low! Two languages and one head! That seems difficult for some folks!
The solution is simple: Raise your situational awareness on the ground.
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P.S.: Does anyone have the link to that accident report?