This article compares the transitions between the Fourth and Fifth French Republics and between the so-called Italian "First" and "Second" Republics. After considering changes in the international context, in the party system, in electoral laws and decentralization processes, the author reaches the conclusion that the Second Republic doesn’t exist as yet.
Keywords: French political history, Italian political history, Parliamentarism, Presidentialism, French Fourth and Fifth Republic, Italian First and Second Republic.