Not in 1968, the year that car was manufactured in, and none of the other ID's that I've seen had this particular quirk, it was either done by one of the (many) previous owners or a fluke. The wiring in those cars got very brittle over time and shorts were pretty common. That car came from France to NL (I imported it).
Anyway, it was a fun gimmick and it helped to dissuade people from taking it for a ride. I never did find out if it was on purpose or accidental, that dash was not one to disassemble if you didn't need to.
Ah that would indeed be way too early for what I’m talking about; the earliest laws for mandatory operation or non-switchable daytime headlamps on a nationwide, full time basis I can find after a cursory search is Canada starting in 1989. Before that many countries had requirements that applied in certain areas or at certain times of the year (e.g. Finland on rural roads starting 1972) which would not account for such a design.
If you find yourself in such a car and needing to drive or have the car running with the headlights out, you might try setting just the first click of the emergency/parking brake and see if that turns the headlamps off.
Anyway, it was a fun gimmick and it helped to dissuade people from taking it for a ride. I never did find out if it was on purpose or accidental, that dash was not one to disassemble if you didn't need to.