Oh for goodness sakes, what a lot of drivel!!
If a ground controller gives me a clearance to taxy down a taxiway, it is perfectly assumed by the pilot that the taxiway is clear of obstructions. Before the A380 was cleared to fly into JFK, the Port Authority would have done its research into wingtip clearance and what was required for the safe operation of the aircraft.
The AF crew got clearance to taxy and they did...the CRJ was NOT at its stand and was holding short of it, at a spot that obviously was not clear to the controller and not visible enough for the AF pilot (who would have been safely assuming the CRJ would be holding with enough clearance).
This is a lesson for the JFK airport operator as well as ATC and new regulations will come out regarding ramp operations.
A couple of years back, a 747 clipped the tail of a 767 at YMML..since then, there has finally been proper documentation of aircraft type to hold at the particular taxiway.