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
ANALYSIS: Why the MATCH Act matters more than it looks
On April 3, 2026, Reuters reported that the United States had proposed a new law, the MATCH Act, designed to restrict exports of semiconductor…
FACT CHECK: field notes on 69 F-35s and $3.8 billion for the B-21
A budget line is a fact you can check; a delivery date is a promise you can only wait for. This fact check verifies…
PORTRAIT: the NDAA 2026 and its $800 million for Ukraine, the questions worth asking
Eight hundred million dollars, buried inside a nine-hundred-billion-dollar bill, can travel through an entire legislative session without a single headline of its own.
NOTE: Lukoil, the toxic asset nobody wants to buy
Lukoil has carried, since October 2025, a label few oil companies want to wear: that of a sanctioned asset, too toxic to sell, too…
FACT CHECK: $15.1 billion for cyberdefense, the Pentagon's new budget front
The American defense budget for fiscal year 2026 allocates $15.1 billion to cybersecurity, according to data published by MeriTalk in 2026.
PORTRAIT: PURL, the American mechanism that mobilized 21 allies for Ukraine
The PURL mechanism — Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List — has mobilized 21 allied countries and two partners around a shared goal: funding the purchase…
COMMENTARY: The MATCH Act, America's technological weapon against Chinese chips
On April 3, 2026, Reuters reported that the United States had proposed the MATCH Act, legislation aimed at restricting exports of chipmaking equipment to…
COLUMN: Washington sanctions Rosneft and Lukoil, the opening salvo of Trump's second term
On October 22, 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Russia's two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, in what amounts to the first measure…
EDITORIAL: 69 F-35s and $3.8 billion for the B-21, the fine print of the American arms budget
Two numbers are enough to sum up the aerial ambition of the American defense budget for 2026: 69 F-35 fighters funded at $8.5 billion,…