‘They Done Gentrified The Prison Experience’: Everyone’s Mocking This ‘Immersive Prison Experience’ At Paris Bar

In a TikTok that’s racked up 1.2 million views, creator Ellie Cherry (@ellie_cherry) gives us a glimpse inside Perpette. It’s an immersive Paris bar in a former jail from the ’60s. Yes, the cells (and the prison bars) are intact. The spot is serving cocktails with a side of smuggling. And viewers are not happy about it; they claim the establishment “gentrified” prison.

And despite (or perhaps because of) its seedy-but-glamorous overtones, it actually seems like a bit of cheeky fun. Is it cheeky fun that glosses over the dark history of the French penal system? Yes. Does it still seem like a wild night out? Also yes.

What Can You Expect?

Perpette (as you’ve probably deduced) translates to “forever.” As in, “Oh you rakish smuggler, you’ve been caught, and you’re going to jail… forever.” The concept is pretty straightforward: Snag your ticket (49.5€, which is equivalent to roughly $56.83), swap out your civvies for an orange jumpsuit, and meet your fellow “inmates” in this “prison”-slash-Paris bar.

Then the story of the night unfolds around you.

According to Perpette’s press, the immersive theater experience is designed to evoke the swinging ’60s, with a dash of illicit fun. You get to meet an inmate known as the “King of Escapes,” who is also a great lover of rum.

He’s under the supervision of a cold, sarcastic warden and a more affable assistant warden, reports the site Sortir A Paris. Then you “delve into the story of “La Fourmi,” France’s greatest smuggler.”

The night is full of surprises, snacks, and a few very special “prison soups” (cocktails).

‘Dystopian’

To say fellow TikTokers are skeptical of prison cosplay is to say Paris is lovely in the spring. It’s an understatement of overwhelming magnitude.

One user wrote, “Let’s not romanticize an EVIL system.”

“We’ve officially lost it,” another said in the top comment, with over 30,000 likes.

“This is so out of touch,” a third said.

“Yall are too bored man,” another criticized.

“This is so dystopian,” another lamented.

BroBible reached out to Ellie Cherry via TikTok direct message.