The thieves stole nine pieces from Napoleon and the Empress's jewellery collection including a necklace, a brooch, and a tiara.
Le Parisien reported that Empress Eugenie's crown was found outside, broken.
It's reported that the Regent Diamond, owned by the French state and worth an estimated £48million was not stolen.
The thieves then made off on a Yamaha TMax scooter in the direction of the A6.
The museum announced on social media that it would remain closed on Sunday without confirming the nature of the incident.
The Louvre is one of the most famous museums in the world, attracting more than nine million visitors per year.
The Minister of the Interior and former Paris police chief, Laurent Nuñez, later addressed the media.
He said the "individuals entered from outside with a cherry picker" and that the entire operation lasted around seven minutes and had been carried out by a team who had clearly scouted the location.
Mr Nuñez continued: "Everything is being done to ensure we find the perpetrators as quickly as possible, and I'm hopeful.
"It was necessary to evacuate people, primarily to preserve traces and clues so that investigators could work in peace. The evacuation of the public took place without incident."
It's believed that two of the thieves posed as workers, wearing hi-vis jackets on the cherry picker, with four people in total suspected to have been involved.
The incident unfolded from 9.30am.
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