American Minimum wage?

It's not $5.85, it is now something like $7.15...still way too low to live on, though.

The relatively low minimum wage in the US is a recent phenomena and is the result of the shift toward conservatism that occurred about 30 years ago. If the minimum wage had been adjusted for inflation since the 1960's it would be about $10 an hour.

As a much more capitalistic and market-based economy as compared to France, the government knows that a minimum wage that high would certainly break the backs of the small companies and make a lot of food and service-based costs very high.

It's really a per-state basis. Here in Massachusetts, minimum wage is $8 per hour.

A better question is why does it matter? Do you have any idea what percent of American workers earn the minimum wage? Approximately 1.5%, and that includes high school workers. It also includes people in food service industries, such as waitresses and bartenders, who only make the "minimum wage" in principle. In reality, when you account for tips, most of them are well above the minimum wage as well.

Competition for labor is what drives wages, not government determined minimum wage laws.

You also might want to ask why French has an unemployment rate that is typically about double that of the U.S. It is because their labor regulations (including the minimum wage) are so strict. As a result French firms hire less labor.

It's none of the government's business what a labor rate is.