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
PROFILE: Black Spark, the ghosts who infiltrated the death factory at Alabuga
What I find vertiginous in this story is not the sabotage itself. It is the patience it demands. Several months of pretending, of smiling…
INVESTIGATION: The ZIRKA — $2,000, 340 km/h, and Automatic Death for Shaheds
I am struck by this relentless equation: Russia pays a few tens of thousands of dollars for its Shaheds; Ukraine was responding with missiles…
COMMENTARY: The IRGC Fires on a Cargo Ship — Iran Tests How Far It Can Go
Signing an agreement with a regime like the Islamic Republic of Iran without robust verification mechanisms is signing an agreement on the hope that…
EDITORIAL: Scarborough Shoal — China Moves a Pawn, the World Still Hesitates
I am not an expert in international maritime law. But I know how to recognize a pattern when I see one. China at Scarborough…
REPORT: Trump Demands NATO Loyalty — Rutte Walks on Eggshells in Washington
There is something deeply uncomfortable about this image: the leaders of an alliance of sovereign democracies learning to navigate the whims of one man…
DECODING: Putin Rejects Peace — and Explains Why He Cannot Accept It
When a head of state calls his adversary's government a "regime," he is not just playing with semantics. He is signaling that he does…
ANALYSIS: 259 Engagements in 24 Hours — the Ukrainian Front on the Edge of Endurance
I keep looking for words that match what 259 engagements in a day actually means. I can't find them. It's one of those numbers…
FACT-CHECK: Did the DIU Ghosts Unit Really Disrupt Russian Logistics in Crimea?
It is difficult to fact-check a military strike in occupied territory. Sources are by nature limited, partial, or subject to security imperatives. What I…
OPEN LETTER: To the Talion Drone — Welcome to the War for Ukrainian Skies
There is something strange and poignant about writing an open letter to a drone. But what Talion represents goes beyond the machine: it is…