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A custom held that it was impolite to use Monsieur with a family name (e.g. Monsieur Dupont) in direct address from a hierarchical inferior to a superior, unless it was needed to disambiguate. Instead, one should simply address the person as Monsieur. This custom may now be obsolete.
Unlike in English, Monsieur is frequently used without a name or article as a polite reference to a man in the third person, notably in official registers:
Monsieur s’est présenté à l’urgence à 18 h 12.
The/This gentleman/The patient/Mr. attended the emergency room at 6:12 p.m.
Additionally, Monsieur (and Madame) are sometimes used in conjunction with titles/roles in formal registers.
Monsieur le Directeur fera une annoncement à 13h30.
The director will be making a presentation at 3:30pm.
Madame le Président a prononcé un discours en lequel elle a dit que la guerre n’est pas juste.
The president has made a speech in which she said that the war is unjust.
Although un/le monsieur is used as a common noun to mean "a/the gentleman", using the word une/la madame to mean "a/the lady" is considered childish language. Instead, une/la dame is used.