Monsieur Lecoq is a fictional detective created by Émile Gaboriau, a 19th-century French writer and journalist. Monsieur Lecoq is employed by the French Sûreté. The character is one of the pioneers of the genre and a major influence on Sherlock Holmes, laying the groundwork for the methodical, scientifically minded detective. In French, "Monsieur" is "Mister" and his surname literally means "The Rooster".