diff --git a/src/poetry/console/commands/init.py b/src/poetry/console/commands/init.py
index 3e93adc763d..d1b9438650e 100644
--- a/src/poetry/console/commands/init.py
+++ b/src/poetry/console/commands/init.py
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ def _init_pyproject(
         if not python:
             config = Config.create()
             python = (
-                "^"
+                ">="
                 + EnvManager.get_python_version(
                     precision=2,
                     prefer_active_python=config.get("virtualenvs.prefer-active-python"),
diff --git a/tests/console/commands/test_init.py b/tests/console/commands/test_init.py
index 2f8ddbce675..edb5ad57e17 100644
--- a/tests/console/commands/test_init.py
+++ b/tests/console/commands/test_init.py
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ def test_empty_license(tester: CommandTester) -> None:
 readme = "README.md"
 
 [tool.poetry.dependencies]
-python = "^{python}"
+python = ">={python}"
 """
     assert expected in tester.io.fetch_output()
 
@@ -1066,7 +1066,7 @@ def mock_check_output(cmd: str, *_: Any, **__: Any) -> str:
 
     expected = f"""\
 [tool.poetry.dependencies]
-python = "^{python}"
+python = ">={python}"
 """
 
     assert expected in pyproject_file.read_text()
diff --git a/tests/console/commands/test_new.py b/tests/console/commands/test_new.py
index 3bd1da82fa7..5b9094d0f6f 100644
--- a/tests/console/commands/test_new.py
+++ b/tests/console/commands/test_new.py
@@ -225,7 +225,7 @@ def mock_check_output(cmd: str, *_: Any, **__: Any) -> str:
 
     expected = f"""\
 [tool.poetry.dependencies]
-python = "^{python}"
+python = ">={python}"
 """
 
     assert expected in pyproject_file.read_text()