> In France, if you move up too far, you can no longer see what color the light is — consequently everyone waits back where they should.

Not sure this will stop people. In Spain we have the same, the stop lights go before the pedestrian zebra thing, yet still some people think you're supposed to stop on top of the zebras, beyond the stoplight, then they wait for someone behind them to blink. No, makes no sense to me either.