Belgian authorities allegedly had a list of suspected jihadists including the “mastermind” of the Paris attacks and the two brothers who carried them out – a month before the massacre took place.

Françoise Schepmans, the mayor of the Molenbeek district of Brussels where several of the Isis extremists had lived, was allegedly handed the names and addresses of more than 80 people believed to be Islamist militants, the New York Times reported.

“What was I supposed to do about them? It is not my job to track possible terrorists,” Ms Schepmans reportedly said in an interview, claiming it was “the responsibility of the federal police”.

What is it like to live in the most vilified jihadist hotbed in Europe?

Speaking to Europe 1 radio today, she admitted a “terrorist network was formed in Molenbeek” and that fundamentalism had been growing in the suburb since the 1970s.

“It is up to state security services to control what preachers are saying,” she added. “The municipal authority has different tasks.”

Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who was killed in a police raid in Saint-Denis last week, was believed to have orchestrated the attacks that killed 130 people on 13 November.

The 28-year-old was already known to have left for Syria to fight for Isis in early 2014 and had been prosecuted in absentia for recruiting extremists, as well as being linked to several failed terror plots.

Abdelhamid Abaaoud boasted of his escape from authorities in Belgium following a failed terrorist attack in an interview published in Isis' propaganda magazine in February (Dabiq)

He was associated with Paris suicide bomber Brahim Abdeslam and his younger brother Salah, who is still on the run for authorities after possibly deciding against blowing himself up and dumping his explosive vest in a bin before fleeing the French capital.

Francois Molins, the Paris public prosecutor, revealed more findings in the continuing investigation yesterday, saying phone records showed Abaaoud was at the Bataclan concert hall where 90 people were killed as the operation to free hostages continued.

French authorities believe the jihadist, who had boasted about his repeated escapes from security services in an Isis propaganda magazine, was preparing a new attack on Paris’ La Defence business district days later.

In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Show all 33 1 /33 In pictures: Saint-Denis raid In pictures: Saint-Denis raid A man is arrested by police officers at the site where a raid happened in the city center of Saint-Denis, near Paris In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Hooded police officers detain a man in Saint-Denis, near Paris In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Hooded police officers detain a man in Saint-Denis, near Paris In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Police officers detain a man on the ground inside a shopping mall in Saint-Denis In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Police officers arrest a man in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris In pictures: Saint-Denis raid French police officers storm a church after a raid in Paris suburb Saint-Denis In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Police officers at work at the site where a raid happened in the city center of Saint-Denis In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Some people are being transferred to a local hospital near the site of this morning police raid in Saint-Denis In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Residents are evacuated in Saint-Denis In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Inhabitants are evacuated from a security perimeter set in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis city center In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Families are evacuated by police members at the site were a police raid happened in the city center of Saint-Denis In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Rescue teams take care of an injured police officer at the site where a police raid happened in the city center of Saint-Denis In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Members of special French RAID forces with a police dog and French riot police (CRS) secure the area during an operation in Saint-Denis In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Police forces operate in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris In pictures: Saint-Denis raid French riot police (CRS), soldiers, firefighters and health workers stand at the scene in Saint-Denis In pictures: Saint-Denis raid French riot police (CRS) secure the area as shots are exchanged in Saint-Denis Reuters In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Rescue teams and police gather at the site where raid happened in the city center of Saint-Denis In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Soldiers operate in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris AP In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Police officers take up positions in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris AP In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Police and Ambulance vans are parked in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris AP In pictures: Saint-Denis raid A resident is being searched by police officers in Paris suburb Saint-Denis AP In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Members of French police special forces in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis city center, as French Police special forces raid an appartment, hunting those behind the attacks that claimed 129 lives in the French capital In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Anti-terrorist police raid apartment in Saint Denis, Paris. Reports suggest the target of the police siege in Saint-Denis is Abdelhamid Abaaoud, thought to be the mastermind behind the Paris attacks. Three suspected terrorists have barricaded themselves in an apartment gunfire has been exchanged between the men and dozens of armed police Rex In pictures: Saint-Denis raid French special police forces secure the area as shots are exchanged in Saint-Denis Reuters In pictures: Saint-Denis raid French police evacuate residents in Saint-Denis Reuters In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Police officers take up positions in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris AP In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Police forces prepare in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris AP In pictures: Saint-Denis raid French spolice stop and search a local resident as shots are exchanged in Saint-Denis In pictures: Saint-Denis raid French police members participate in an raid in the city center of Saint-Denis EPA In pictures: Saint-Denis raid French special police forces secure the area as shots are exchanged in Saint-Denis Reuters In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Firemen wait for the develop of the operation in the city center of Saint-Denis EPA In pictures: Saint-Denis raid French police secure the area as shots are exchanged in Saint-Denis Reuters In pictures: Saint-Denis raid French special police forces secure the area as shots are exchanged in Saint-Denis Reuters

Mr Molins said the plot could have been carried out on 18 or 19 November but was stopped by the police raid on the Saint-Denis apartment where Abaaoud was sheltering with his cousin and at least one other militant.

Police originally said Hasna Ait Boulahcen had killed herself in a suicide bombing but later said the explosive vest was detonated by a third person who has not been identified.

DNA from that person matched that found on a Kalashnikov rifle left in a black Seat Léon used by the restaurant attackers.

Mr Molins also said Salah Abdeslam was filmed in a petrol station in Ressons with a man identified as Mohamed Abrini, 30, on 11 November.

A European and international arrest warrant has been issued against Abrini and authorities have warned that he is “dangerous” and “probably armed”.