France to train benefit officials in detecting lies through applicants' facial expressions

French social security officials are to be given classes in lie detection to prevent fraud, estimated to cost the state billions of pounds a year.

They will be trained to assess whether people applying for family allowances, disability benefits or pensions are lying from their body language, facial expressions and changes in their tone of voice.

A budget of €749,999 (£675,275) has been set aside for the first year of classes, to be based on the methods of Paul Ekman, an American psychologist and scientific adviser to the US television crime drama Lie To Me.

The French Social Security System, which covers health, pensions, disability and family allowances, is advertising for instructors who will train staff to “conduct interviews and hearings capable of characterising fraud… to detect lies in verbal and written claims and to know how to decipher non-verbal communication”.

Small classes of eight to 12 trainees will receive two or three days of instruction.

They will be taught to spot micro-expressions, which last about a 25th of a second, such as tiny, involuntary shakes of the head, indicating no, while the interviewee is verbally saying yes.

Another possible ‘tell’ is an unexplained pause before answering a question that does not require reflection.

Other signs can include biting or licking lips, hiding the mouth or eyes, tidying objects such as phones or pencils on the desk, or adjusting one's hair or spectacles.

Dr Ekman, 85, has compiled an “atlas of emotions” with more than 10,000 facial expressions, and is reputed to be highly effective in detecting falsehoods.

However, the practice of judging someone's integrity by the expression on their face is scientifically disputed, with critics claiming a micro-expression cannot reveal the inner workings of the mind.

Applicants will not be denied benefits simply because officials suspect they are not telling the truth, but investigations may be launched if tell-tale signs are picked up.

Fraudulent claims for illness, disabilities, pensions or family allowances cost the state €587 million (nearly £530m) in 2017, according to a report by France’s fraud office. However, officials estimate that the true cost amounts to several billion euros a year.