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: Beijing's 15-point FDI plan — seduction or genuine opening?
On June 23, 2026, Beijing published a 15-point plan aimed at "stabilizing foreign investment" in China. The timing is anything but incidental.
OPEN LETTER: Chinese consumption collapses — the economy that can no longer lie to itself
I am writing to you with numbers Beijing would have preferred never to publish. May 2026: Chinese retail sales contracted by 0.6%
FACT-CHECK: The Fujian in the Taiwan Strait — what really happened on June 23–24?
On June 23 and 24, 2026, the Chinese aircraft carrier Fujian transited the Taiwan Strait. This fact is confirmed by the government
ESSAY: ASEAN uses the Hormuz crisis to accelerate the South China Sea Code of Conduct
History holds crises that, instead of paralyzing, catalyze. The Strait of Hormuz crisis of March to June 2026 belongs in that category
NARRATIVE: Taiwan orders 210,966 drones for $6.5 billion — the island that is preparing
The Taiwanese cabinet approved a special budget of NT$210 billion — approximately $6.5 billion US dollars — for the acquisition of 210,966
PROFILE: Kim Jong-un, engineer of destruction — DPRK tests the artillery of the future
On June 25, 2026, Kim Jong-un personally inspected the latest North Korean conventional weapons tests, according to the official KCNA agency. Images
COMMENTARY: The United States gives the Philippines underwater eyes to face China
On June 22, 2026, at the Subic Bay naval base in Zambales province, the United States transferred to the Philippines 4 Ocean
OPINION: Canada sends warships to the Indo-Pacific — historic pivot or high-stakes gamble?
On June 24, 2026, the Canadian Minister of Defence announced the deployment of warships to the Indo-Pacific. This is no trivial decision.
EDITORIAL: Scarborough Shoal — China tests the West while it looks the other way
On June 23, 2026, a rare naval confrontation erupted between China and the Philippines near Scarborough Shoal, known in Filipino as Bajo