The French have been credited with inventing the bidet and popularising pissoirs or public urinals, and now they can add the biodegradable and portable toilet to their name。

　　Frenchman Laurent Helewa designed the lightweight, easy to construct and carry toilet after Hurricane Katrina, when thousands of displaced people were crammed into a stadium for a week, with hardly any access to facilities。

　　"It's a taboo subject, but necessary in case of natural disasters," he told the reporters at the annual International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva, pointing to the earthquakes in Japan and Haiti that displaced tens of thousands of people。

　　"The first problem is to have access to a toilet. Because if not, people will do their business wherever, and you end up with epidemics such as cholera," said Helewa, who is a doctor。

　　Weighing about two kilogrammes (4.4 pounds)， his invention is essentially a piece of cardboard that folds into a boxed seat in a minute, and comes with plastic bags that each contain an absorbent pad to soak up liquids。

　　Helewa, who gamely climbed atop a sample, claimed that the heavy-duty version is able to withstand a weight of 200 kg and usage of 20 hours a day, after it was tested by four armies。

　　The French invention is among more than 1,000 creations showcased by inventors from 45 countries at this week's inventions fair in Geneva。

　　法国人曾以发明坐浴盆、以及普及公共厕所而著称，如今，他们又可以因为可生物降解的“便携厕所”而让人称赞了。

　　法国人洛朗•海莱瓦在卡特里娜飓风过后设计了这款轻便、易于使用和携带的“便携厕所”。卡特里娜飓风来临时，成千上万流离失所的人们在一个体育场挤了一周，而且无处如厕。

　　他在参加日内瓦年度国际发明展时告诉记者：“这个发明也许让人忌讳，但在遇到自然灾害时却非常有用。”此前，发生在日本和海地的地震让数万人无家可归。

　　身为医生的海莱瓦说：“头等大事是找到厕所。因为如果找不到，人们只得随地解决，这会导致霍乱等传染病的出现。”

　　这款便携厕所重约两公斤(4.4磅)，使用者可以将构成厕所的一片纸板在一分钟内折成一个盒状座位。座位内部放着若干塑料袋，每个塑料袋都有可吸收液体的吸水垫。

　　海莱瓦还勇敢地坐在一个样品上展示了一番，称这款便携厕所非常结实耐用，能够承受200公斤的重压，一天可以使用20个小时，曾在四支军队中做过测试。

　　在本周的日内瓦发明展上，来自45个国家的发明者共展出了一千多件展品。