Maxime Marquette
MadMax is an independent bilingual news outlet based in Québec, publishing analysis on geopolitics, technology, democracy, and culture.
Our mission: rigorous, source-cited analysis carried out with full editorial independence — no sponsorship, no party line.
Our editorial standards: sources are cited inline, corrections are fixed and logged publicly, and any use of artificial intelligence is disclosed.
“Burn rather than rot. Write rather than stay silent.”
Fire first. Sentences after. No lukewarm takes.
Always answer the strongest version of the opposing point. No strawmen.
No commissioned pieces. No editorial masters. No compromise.
Columns by Maxime Marquette
4,540 columns published
EDITORIAL: The EU's €3.9 Billion Drone Fund Is Real — But Ukraine Cannot Afford to Wait for Europe's Pace
Late. Months late. The €3.9 billion that arrived June 30, 2026 could have arrived in late 2025 and changed the production calculus for an…
REPORT: China's PMI Rebounds to 50.3 — AI Exports Are Carrying an Economy That Domestic Demand Cannot
50.3. One decimal point above stagnation. In any other context, that would be unremarkable. In China's current economic environment — real estate crisis, weak…
DECODING: The 76th Prisoner Exchange — 160 Soldiers, 2/3 Wounded, and Russia's Systematic Obstruction
Two-thirds wounded in captivity. Not in battle. In captivity. That number is not a statistic — it is a sentence. It describes what Russia…
ANALYSIS: Russia Targets Ukraine's Fuel Infrastructure — And Its Offensive Is Stalling Anyway
Russia launched 151 drones in one night and hit 17 targets. Ukraine intercepted 86% of them. Most coverage focuses on the 86%. The analysis…
FACT-CHECK: Ukraine's Defense Export Mechanism — What Is True, Partially True, and Unverifiable
Fact-checking a policy mechanism on the day it is announced is an exercise in intellectual honesty — and intellectual humility. I can verify what…
OPEN LETTER: Dear Xi Jinping — The Pentagon Just Blacklisted Your Best Companies
The Pentagon is not simply making a list. It is writing a narrative — the narrative that says Chinese civilian technology and Chinese military…
TESTIMONY: Sybiha Expects Air Defense Decisions at Ankara — And Ukraine Cannot Afford to Wait
There is a particular kind of courage in a diplomat who speaks plainly about existential needs in front of cameras that the whole world…
NARRATIVE: Ukraine Built Its Own Smart Bomb in 17 Months — And Took It to War
Seventeen months. That is how long it took Ukraine to go from concept to combat deployment for a precision-guided munition. The Pentagon takes longer…
PROFILE: 9,463 Kamikaze Drones in One Day — the Face of Russia's Total War
9,463 drones in one day. That figure should appear in every Western leader's speech when they hesitate over increasing support for Ukraine. Not as…