Not sure about Britain and Denmark, but in France, Belgium and the Netherlands there's a difference if the traffic light for cars is an arrow or just a disc. I

Not sure about Britain and Denmark, but in France, Belgium and the Netherlands there's a difference if the traffic light for cars is an arrow or just a disc. If it's an arrow, cars have priority and don't have to worry about other traffic getting in their way. It's mostly for left turns (a green left arrow indicates that traffic coming in front has a red light) but it also works for pedestrians, a right arrow means that pedestrians and bicycles have red lights. If it's a disc, then cars should pay attention to other traffic and observe regular priority rules, so stop for pedestrians and bicycles that likely have a green light at the same time as the cars do. For pedestrians and bicycles, a green light basically means they always have priority and cars must stop for them wherever they come from.