This article contributes to the analysis of counter-discourses on austerityconcerning the European debt crisis of the 2010s. Though numerous studieshave considered anti-austerity movements, this original article is based upona frame analysis of citizen debt audit groups in France, Spain, and Belgium,which were part of the anti-austerity mobilisations but have mostly been ignoredin the relevant scholarship. I explore the political imaginary of activists, firstlyshowing how they define the problematic situation of the debt crisis, signaling theresponsibility of public authorities, especially local actors. Secondly, I highlighttheir imaginary of the role to be followed by the state in such crisis management.They advocate for the redeployment of the social state in the context of theeconomic crisis. However, this demand for a social state is not unconditional butunderpinned by a sincere desire to grant citizens oversight of the social missionof public authorities. Therefore, I refer to the concept of social democracy. As mycontribution is comparative, exploring this political imaginary of the democraticstate’s role varies according to national and local political contexts.