`titrebA synopsis of the lecture “The economic and financial crisis in Europe and the United States” by Paul Krugman (winner of the Nobel Prize in economic sciences) in Paris on 31 January 2012, invited by the Cabinet Lunalogic and Annales des Mines`/titrebThe winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in economics, Paul Krugman defended a Keynesian interpretation of the current situation. He dwelled on the positive role of government spending in stimulating the economy, and thrashed the proponents of austerity programs. According to him, the eurozone’s problem is not (at least, not just) a lack of discipline in national budgets. Instead, the size of private indebtedness (households and firms) led to overconsumption and has given rise to current problems. Recalling that the European crisis is both economic and political, this supporter of European federalism advocated setting up a genuine governance for the eurozone, in particular by assigning the European Central Bank a role (similar to that of its American counterpart, the Federal Reserve) in stimulating the economy, in addition to its current assignment of controlling prices. This expanded authority could apply the solutions advocated by Krugman for handling the crisis, namely the recourse to inflation. Such a solution should not, however, impede the long-term reforms necessary for attenuating Europe’s inevitable loss of influence and lightening the burden being transferred to future generations.