PARIS, Feb 17 - French public spending will rise by no more than the amount automatically incurred by inflation during the five year term of parliament, up to 2007, French Finance Minister Francis Mer said in a newspaper article. The government was firmly committed to meeting its promise to keep a lid on public spending and to strive towards reducing the country's debt, he said in an article for Le Monde newspaper defending the conservative government's economic policy. France's public deficit is expected to breach the limits of the European Union's Stability and Growth Pact for a third year running this year and Paris says it aims to get back into line in 2005. A copy of his article was supplied to on Tuesday ahead of the afternoon daily's appearance on shop shelves.||