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Following the geographical and sociological studies that analyze the relationship between the inside and outside of the prison and examine the application of the concept of "total institution" (Goffman, 1968 [1961]), we intend to show that social life in prison is not only shaped by the internal stresses of the institution, but that there is also a continuity of social relations beyond the wall. This analysis is based on an ethnographic survey conducted in the Hauts-de-Seine prison, in the Paris suburbs. We will first show the existence of a social continuum between prison and inmates’urban area of origin. This is well reflected by the social relations in detention, which correspond to a prison version of the ""street culture"", and by the continuity of knowledge networks existing both inside and outside the penitentiary. Then, we will delve into the territorialization of this social continuum at different scales (distribution in cells, cohabitation in the exercise yard, internal mobility of inmates, relations with the outside) to finally show how it contributes to the ""detotalization"" of the prison institution.