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
TESTIMONY: Russia–North Korea Bridge Delayed — Fractured Symbol of a Hollow Alliance
North Korea built its side of the bridge. Russia did not build its own. In a relationship supposedly between equal partners — or at…
NARRATIVE: Russian Soldiers Trained in China — The Secret Program Alarming Europe
Beijing says it is neutral in Russia's war against Ukraine. Beijing presents itself as a peace mediator. And simultaneously, Beijing welcomes Russian soldiers into…
ESSAY: NATO Ankara, July 2026 — The Alliance Survives Trump, Ukraine Awaits Its Guarantees
This conversion of Atlanticist discourse into economic argument is both clever and troubling. It may work with Trump. It also means the alliance's value…
OPINION: Penza Burns — Ukraine Just Struck the Brain of Putin's Missile Arsenal
I won't hide my initial reaction: this strike felt different. Not because it's spectacular — the war in Ukraine is full of spectacular strikes.…
PROFILE: Bohdan, Oleksandr, Serhii — Three Soldiers Ukraine's Military Reform Leaves Behind
Before discussing numbers and contractual structures, we need to name what these soldiers have been through. Four years at the front. Comrades killed beside…
INVESTIGATION: The "Equalizer" Bomb — How Ukraine Built Its Precision Weapon in 17 Months
What strikes me about this announcement is less the bomb itself than what it reveals about Ukraine's industrial adaptability. In 17 months, under constant…
COMMENTARY: Xi in Pyongyang — the shadow alliance reshaping the world order
I won't pretend this is a total surprise. What strikes me is the speed with which Beijing decided to publicly drop the ideal of…
EDITORIAL: The FORGE Alliance — 54 nations against China's rare earth empire
Twenty to thirty years to build an alternative. Twelve to eighteen months to decide to act. This temporal gap is the core of the…
REPORT: Poland, Trump's top NATO ally — and the risks that come with it
Poland understood something Germany is still learning: with Trump, the relationship is built on money first, ideology second, and shared values last. That is…